However, Icron executives said that they didn’t expect the high price to be an obstacle. “We sell a CAT-5 USB extender for $695. We sell a lot of them,” said Robert Eisses, Icron’s chief executive. “…We expect to sell a lot of these, too.”

The WiRanger is made up of two components: the LEX, or Local Extender Module, and the REX, or the Remote Extender Module. A Type B connector attaches the LEX to the PC, while four ports on the REX allow four devices to be plugged in at the same time.

While the product’s spec sheet warns that “some products may not function normally due to this [the wireless radio’s} restriction, Eisses said that performance may just be slightly affected. “A hard drive that requires 50-Mbits/s throughput to operate at full speed may get 30 Mbits/s,” he said. “instead of getting your data in a blink, it may be blink-blink.”

The product will be the first of a family of devices, according to Icron. The company calls its technology “ExtremeUSB”. Other members of the faily will include ultrawideband products, Eisses said.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 3:32 PM EDT to include comments from Icron’s Eisses.